Activity Days and Pioneers

This past week was a busy one for me. For Activity Days we taught the girls how to quilt. I am always surprised at the homemaking skills that are being lost with each generation. The girls loved learning to quilt and commented how much fun they had. We made it a "Mom and Me quilting" activity. We managed to do one quilt then enjoyed strawberry shortcake. I finished up 3 more quilts at home with the help of my friend and her daughter (also one of my A.D. girls).....

3 lap quilts and one twin size.

I love, LOVE this twin quilt. The top fabric was on clearance and the backing is just a twin top sheet. It was so pretty. I was tempted to keep it myself, hehehe.

Then this weekend we had the Pioneer parade. It is a celebration of the summer of 1847 when the first pioneers entered Utah. There are lots of activities for the kids. During the parade every one gets to dress up as pioneers. We had all the primary kids on the float.We used the quilts to decorate the sides of the float. Then we will donate them to the local hospital.

Of course I forgot to get pictures before the parade. We had left the camera in the van, oops. I did managed to snap a picture before everyone started to take things off the trailer- just barely!

Two of the cutest young pioneers in years! A simple straw hat, bandana, and paid shirt. Not "authentic" but it worked!

Activity Day idea...

I had to share this post mostly so that I would be able to reference back to it. I love bookmarks and this would be so simple for my girls to do.

Scripture Power

the scriptures are always 'sweet' too....

from LDS Activity Days

Love 'em!

Activity Days: Sock Hop

Our Sock Hop was a great success complete with balloons, pictures, rootbeer floats and poodle skirts.

One of the girls brought her Grandpa. He added a great piece by sharing memories of the 50's era. It was great.

We played a couple of different games.

First the 'couples' had to answer questions about each other. One of the girls came up with the questions which made it even better. They were like: what size shoe does your dad wear. What is her favorite subject in school. The winners got candy bars.

Then dad's had to pick their daughters hand and girls had to pick their dads feet from behind a screen. I think everyone got it right too.

Another one of the girls suggestions the shaving a balloon game. The girls had to shave to balloon. If they popped the balloon they would have cut their dad. I am proud to say none of the girls popped their balloons.

We served rootbeer floats. They tasted extra yummy to me. Good old fashioned Farr's ice cream with rootbeer. YUM!

I took the girls pictures with dad then made up a collage for them. They were excited to get them.

All in all it was a success. The dads had a great time with their girls. I think it is so important for girls to have a positive male role model in their lives, whether that be dad, uncle, grandpa or a family friend. It's important and it was good to see these dads taking part in their girls lives.

Browsin' for great Christmas ideas.....

Tile Coasters from Organize and Decorate...

I am seeing more and more of these headboards from old doors. I really like this red one from Our Northern Home. I have a guest room to decorate, well as soon as we finish it he he he.....

Craft idea for my activity day girls next month. Pinecone trees from the Wool Acorn

I am also starting to collect ideas for our playroom downstairs. I am wanting a fun room the boys can retreat to with their friends. One that will grow with them and be functional for our boys ages 11 to 2.

This playroom and Brown paper packages will work great for the little boys....

I like the border in this room I found at Design Dazzle. Once again for the little boys but couldn't I work this into a teens space too? hmmm, food for thought.

I remember coming across I am Momma's playroom last year. I would love to have this little peek a boo door for my little guy to peek at mom crafting....

Can't you just see the older boys doing this?

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiewy2CLEcyd82YkXbQhxE4P4Xcp-wqPer2AYXDU5W9E5hIlFasMxA5X9grIgZSmKVr5Q3jcalrDXSdmWUkMUIHLOuhuVR3iWPb36wmkQGask_3lB1Hz2GE8Vm4y6UHMrOJ4MY1Xfxn2Bo/s1600-h/mcnamara-striped-room-l.jpg

I need a reading space and a gaming space...gonna have to keep watching and searching for more ideas. Maybe about the time I have my ideas together we will be ready for them.....

Maybe!!

Activity Days Service Project: 42 of 52

For October our theme for Activity Days was Service and Citizenship. I decided to focus on the service aspect. I had read about the Ronald McDonald House projects of providing blankets and cards. When my little sister was a baby she was in the hospital with Failure to Thrive. She was too young to connect with toys but the blanket mom made her remains with her today in her late 20's. She carried that blanket with her everywhere. When it became nothing but rags- literally mom promised to make another EXACTLY like it. Well, being attached to it and a bit of a smarty pants she always replied, "you can make me another one mom, but you can't take this one". We have a RMH close but I also work at the local community hospital. It is just a small hospital but there are quite a few kids that come in. With RSV season around the corner I thought it would be nice to provide service for our own community.

I managed to get fleece on sale 40% off at Joann's. I bought enough for each girl to make 2 blankets. They are just small lap blankets but the idea is for the kids to have something warm and fuzzy to cuddle up to when they don't feel good. I was hoping to get 20 blankets made....

We simply cut and tied the fringe on the fleece. No sewing required and simple enough for 8 and 9 yr old girls who out number their leaders 4:1!

We also planned to make cards. I searched for a couple of ideas that could easily be assembled by the girls. I found The Handmade Card Blog. She has several ideas that I was able to adapt cards from. Many others I hope to make as well. It was a great find!

From my scouting days I learned that individual kits are great helps when doing projects with young ones. So I pulled out my cricut and searched for supplies I had on hand already......

I precut what I needed from my cricut (love this little gadget!) I spread the sets out so each girl would get the supplies to make 6 cards; 2 each of 3 different styles.

Then that night I just walked the girls through the assembly process. I had ideas of what they should/could write on the card. Some of the girls provided their own variations too. In the end we had a great bunch of cards to be filled out by family and friends or even staff and given to a little one feeling blue.

Our last meeting of the month we piled in the cars and delivered the blankets and cards to the hospital. The nurses were excited and so glad to see the fuzzy gifts.

On the way home we stopped for an ice cream cone- enjoying the "Sweetness of Service".

Sock Hop- Activity Days

This month we are planning to learn about Hospitality. I wanted a fun way for the girls to learn how to be a hostess, introduce others, and what not. They have been wanting a party and I'm not sure if they have had a Daddy Daughter activity yet so I thought we could have all this in one with a Sock Hop.

I plan to have the girls plan the party, make the invitations, and help decorate. Since we have an extra Tuesday this month I planned a nice service project just in time for the holiday season.

Here is the calendar I made for each of the girls....

Okay- so the calendar is more for moms but that's important. Activity Days is only requested to be 2 days a month but I decided on each Tuesday night. I have been doing Cub Scouts for the last 5 years so I just translated a lot of what I had learned in scouting into activity days. I find that having a consistant time and place improves attendance and enjoyment of the acitivities. Tuesday night is when scouts and mutual are all held. It just made sense to have activity days then too. Now, mom and dad have one stop to make and drop all the kids off. Plus they know right where the kids should be every Tuesday night.

I did wonder if I had bitten off too much as I have limited help. I talked with my dearest husband about time away from our family and taking on too much myself (I tend to do this). His response was (as usual) one of great support. He talked about how much the girls in our neighborhood needed this; how our boys are already gone to scouts that night and how he could manage the little boys at home just fine for an hour or two. What an amazing man I have. His concern was not for himself or our family but for the need of the kids in our area. I think he gets that from his amazing mom. She should be proud of the man who is following in her footsteps- always thinking of others. So I continue with Activity Days each Tuesday. So far the girls have loved every minute.

So for this month it's a 50's flashback. I'm thinking invitations made to look like a 45 record, ballon arches, poodle skirts and pink, black and turqoise; games, fun, and rootbeer floats. I will try to post each idea so keep watching. Hopefully you will find something fun to do with your group.

Activity Days: project 32 of 52

A simple project....

After 5 years in scouts I am now in Activity Days. I am excited to get started. After searching for some ideas I put together a calendar.....

I made a card with our (leaders) phone numbers and a bookmark....

I put 8 on one sheet then laminated them and trimmed them.  

I took empty cans, covered them with jute, embelished a little with ribbon and a monogram for each girl.

Then filled them up. I wrote a letter welcoming the girls. Added candy for the rough days that need sweetening, a pencil and highlighter for marking scriptures. The last thing I added was a composition notebook with instructions to have it decorated to their liking for our next meeting.

I have delivered a couple and will finish delivering them in the morning. It has provided a nice opportunity to meet other families in our new ward. I hope that the girls enjoy it and have fun with the activities I have planned. I found a lot of great ideas on LDS Activity Day Ideas. Check out her site....

I think you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Halloween ideas.....Activity Days ideas.....

Halloween is Robin's favorite holiday. I don't do scary! Truely, I have nightmares but I enjoy decorating for the holidays. Last year I added to our harvest decor. Cute Halloween I can do.....here are some fresh ideas I came across blog surfing last night. This is why I love blogs. Simple, cute ideas that anyone can do on a budget!

Ohhh, I love these ghosts. bedifferentactnormal.blogspot

 Or how about this in our new front yard???

thecelebrationshoppe.com

Yep, I'm gonna have to get going on this sign. I love it! The boys would get a great kick out of it. Picture surrounded by pumpkins in my front flower bed. My flowers are needing to be cut back anyway!

I am also on the hunt for Activity Days ideas. I found several last night but if you have any to share or resources please let me know. I will be diving into my scouting resources but would like to focus on helping the girls earn their Faith in God (is that what the girls one is called- you know me- I'm all about boys...).

Here are the sites I have checked out so far:

ldsactivitydays.com 

mormonchic.com 

funactivity.blogspot. 

sugardoodle.net 

Haven't checked this one out but gonna- looks good....